Sony rebrands Japan's Xperia Z4 as Z3+ for global release

Administrator

09:33, May 27, 2015

Sony is bringing the Xperia Z4 smartphone it launched in Japan to the rest of the world, but with a change of name. Rebranded by Sony as the Xperia Z3+, the smartphone is seemingly being marketed as a slightly upgraded version of the Xperia Z3 rather than a new generation of mobile device, and considering its specifications and physical similarity to earlier models, that may be an appropriate move to make.

Mimicking the appearance of the Xperia Z3, measuring 6.9mm thick and packed into an IP65 and IP68-rated waterproof and dust-tight body, the Xperia Z3+ runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. On the front of the Android 5.0 smartphone is a 5.2-inch 1080p display with Triluminos and X-Reality technologies, while the battery life is said to last up to two days, with a capacity of 2,900mAh.

The rear camera is a similar 20.7-megapixel sensor as used in earlier variants, with an 8x digital zoom, 4K video recording, HDR, and SteadyShot video stabilization, while the front five-megapixel camera is also capable of Full HD video. Connectivity extends to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, DLNA, NFC, and ANT+, and its audio processing uses DSEE HX to "upscale the audio fidelity" of MP3 and AAC tracks, while the new LDAC codec can now transfer data over Bluetooth three times more efficiently than earlier codecs.

Pricing for the Xperia Z3+ is unknown, but it will be shipping globally in June.